1. The Deity of the Christ
a brief introduction to the nature of Jesus of Nazareth

2. purpose increase your faith in Him
be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks
both you and others are helped...

3. warning! this is just an introduction; it can get much deeper
how deep you go is up to you...

4. overview the big claim Jesus’ claim to fame
the big proof Is He what He says He is?
the big fix? Were the disciples conspirators?

5. Jesus’ big claim How ever did we get this idea that Jesus is God?
mostly from Him, and his followers…

6. john 1.1 in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

7. but who is “the Word”?
v 14 tells us and the Word became flesh and lived among us
if the Word = Jesus
and the Word = God
thus Jesus = God

8. john 10. 30-33 [Jesus said] “I and the Father are one
john [Jesus said] “I and the Father are one.” Again the Jews picked up stones to stone Him… “[We are stoning you] for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God”

9. Jesus claimed He and the Father were one!
Jews knew what He was implying
importantly He never denies it

10. mark 2.7 who can forgive sins but God alone?
He had the nerve to forgive sins against others
but only God is offended in all sins and only He has that right
they rightly accuse Him of blasphemy if He were a mere man

11. john 8.58 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am.”
what happened to good grammar?
to the Jews, I am = God
just afterwards the Jews try and stone Him again
again, no denial

12. mark 13.31 heaven and earth shall pass away but my words shall never pass away
Is 40.8 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.
“my” words = words of God
Jesus = God

13. john 20.28 thomas said to him, “my lord and my god.”
Jesus never corrects him (angels and mere prophets would have)
[greek = the lord of me and the god of me]

14. john 8.46 which of you convicts me of sin?
He said things like this in front of family and friends; so what?
They spent a lot of time with Him; they would know immediately
No one said a thing
to Jews the sinless one = God

15. there’s more!
besides referring to Himself as I AM, forgiving sins, claiming oneness with the Father, claiming sinlessness, accepting worship...
He also changed the names of people (in OT only God did that)

16. He creates! Col Jn 1.3
He sends the Holy Spirit Jn
He gives eternal life Jn 3.16
He is unchanging Heb
etc., etc., etc.

17. the big proof If Jesus = God, we follow Truth
If Jesus ≠ God, our faith is in vain
classic logic leads us to…

18. lord, liar, lunatic Jesus was either telling truth, or not
if not, he was either intentionally not telling truth (lying), or
unintentionally not telling the truth (mistaken)
therefore, He was either 1) telling truth, 2) lying, or 3) mistaken

19. liar! Jesus = liar? liars have motives; what were His?
none of usual benefits
but did get hatred, rejection, misunderstanding
where are his accusers?
if lying he was a very bad man
and, most importantly,…

20. liar! would a liar go to a horrible torture and death?
no confession recorded
so…

21. lunatic! mistaken about being God?
farther one’s claims from the truth, the more loony that person is
Sermon on the Mount from a lunatic?
a madman resurrects people from the dead?
I am a teacher; true
I am a great teacher; not true
I am a great woman teacher; very not true
I am a great woman teacher with wings; very very not true
I am a great woman teacher with wings and I live on the sun; I’m insane
If Jesus is not God but claims to be; he is insane.

22. lunatic! no one has claimed he was loony - even his enemies
no other lunacy characteristics:
egotism
narcissism
inability to love, listen to, or understand others

23. aut deus aut homo malus Lord either God or a bad man
mentally bad if he was mistaken, morally bad if He was lying
but Jesus = good & wise
liar is not good, lunatic is not wise
thus, if he was not a liar or a lunatic, he was…
Lord

24. the big fix? look at it another way
the disciples wrote that Jesus = God and He rose from the dead
were they lying, mistaken, or telling the truth?

25. liars! if lying, what were their motives?
no fringe benefits (no wealth, no power, no harem)

26. liars!
they were mocked, hated, sneered at, jeered at, exiled, deprived of the property, their reputations, and their civil rights; they got imprisoned, whipped, tortured,

27. liars!
clubbed to a pulp, stoned, beheaded, sawed in pieces, boiled in oil, crucified, fed to lions and cut to ribbons by gladiators..
no confessions to this greatest of all conspiracies

28. liars! none of the psychological traits of liars, e.g...
they made themselves look less than heroic
(rebuked, said silly things, couldn’t stay with Him at Gethsemane, etc.)

29. liars!
they said women(!) were last with Him, first at the grave, first to see Him
why don’t their stories show evidence of collusion?

30. liars! what about James and Paul???
James believed after Jesus left; Paul was a man persecuting these people
what did they get?
James was executed ~AD 62; Paul ~AD 68

31. liars! where is the scholarly book written about the conspiracy?
John R.W. Stott wrote that the silence of Christ’s enemies “is as eloquent a proof of the resurrection as the apostles’ witness.”

32. losers! so they were making a big innocent mistake?
they spent years with Him and would have seen he was not the son of God
were they mistaken about the nail prints and spear wound?

33. losers!
could they have spent weeks with a poseur and not figured it out?
no one snapped out of it?
their enemies never said they were insane

34. losers!
and if they were mistaken, there is one nagging problem: where is His body?
did the Jews take it?
did the Romans?
the disciples?
if so = lie, and back we go

35. Jesus is God and He rose from the dead.
conclusion
a little more complicated than this (this = introduction)
but if Jesus and his followers were not lying or mistaken, they were telling the truth, and...
Jesus is God and He rose from the dead.

36. suggested starter reading

37. suggested starter reading

38. suggested starter reading

39. swordandspirit.com